Taylor Swift
| Origin = Wyomissing, Pennsylvania | Genre = Country | Occupation = Singer-Songwriter | Years_active = 2006–Present | Label = Big Machine Records | Associated_acts = Carrie Underwood, Sara Evans | URL = Taylor Swift Official Site }} Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country music singer-songwriter. At only 16-years-old, she released a debut single enititled "Tim McGraw", which peaked at #6 on the Billboard's Hot Country Songs in 2007. The song made Swift a country-music star overnight. She recently released another single, entitled "Teardrops On My Guitar", which debuted at #46 and currently ranks at #35. Biography Taylor Swift is currently one of the youngest singers on the country-music charts, though certainly not the first teenage country singer. Over the years, several teenage acts have seen success as country artists, including Tanya Tucker, Marie Osmond, and LeAnn Rimes. Rising Success Swift was born in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania in 1989 and was musically influenced from an early age. Her maternal grandmother was a professional opera singer who was one of her key inspirations in her musical career during her early life. At the age of ten, Swift began to perform around her hometown, singing at karaoke contests, festivals, and fairs. Her first exposure to the music business consisted of recording demo tapes at a studio. When Swift was eleven, she sang the national anthem at a Philadelphia 76ers game. At twelve, she gained interest in the guitar and began to write songs. During this time she also took trips with her family to Nashville, Tennessee, to show her music around. In Nashville she wrote songs with local songwriters. A few years later, she and her family moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee. When she performed at a local restaurant called the Bluebird Cafe, she caught the attention of a veteran of the Nashville music industry, Scott Borchetta. Borchetta wanted to put her on his new label called Big Machine Records, partially owned by country music star Toby Keith. Current Success (2007) Swift's first single, "Tim McGraw", was released to radio in Summer of 2006. On October 24, 2006, her self-titled CD was released. The CD, on which Swift wrote or co-wrote all of the songs, peaked at #19 on the sales charts and sold more than 40,000 during its first week. The song "Tim McGraw" peaked at #6 on January 27, 2007, and the song's video reached #1 on CMT's video charts. Her followup, "Teardrops On My Guitar", debuted at #46 on the February 24, 2007 country charts. Overnight, Swift became a country-music star, becoming one of the biggest female names in the business, along with Sara Evans, Faith Hill, Kellie Pickler and Carrie Underwood. Since her success, she has appeared on Good Morning America, and at the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards. Her pursuit of country music stardom was the subject of "GAC Short Cuts", a part-documentary, part-music video series that aired during the summer of 2006 on the country music channel Great American Country. Swift sang the national anthem at the November 12, 2006 Nascar race and at the November 23, 2006 Thanksgiving Day football game between the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions. She also performed at halftime at a recent Pittsburgh Steelers game. She also appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Tuesday February 13, 2007, where she performed her hit single, "Tim McGraw". Trivia * In the booklet of her CD, most of the lyrics are written in lowercase, with several random letters in uppercase. The uppercase letters spell out a hidden message - for instance, "Tim McGraw"'s hidden message spells out "Can't tell me nothin'". * Swift moved to Nashville with her family in 2003. Discography Albums Singles ACurrently active on charts Taylor Swift's self titled debut album was recently certified Gold. External links *Taylor Swift Official Website *Taylor Swift Review at UnRatedMagazine.com Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor SwiPPOOft, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor